Tools

Marshall Curry (If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front) directed and edited this provocative documentary about Matthew Vandyke, a Georgetown University graduate who went to the Middle East in search of adventure and ended up fighting in the Libyan Revolution of 2011. Most of the footage was shot by Vandyke, who initially set out to make an action-packed movie about his travels, yet Curry's crafty organization of that footage constantly encourages one to question the motivations, and even the sanity, of the man behind the camera. In addition to being a knotty psychological portrait, this raises some tough questions about America's presence in the Middle East and the influence of social media on contemporary politics.
ByBen Sachs